Before I begin, I just want to show you the vehicle we were behind at the stoplight the other night:

I had been wondering who the Pickle King was. And now I know.

So one of the things I’ve been reminded about myself here in Thailand is that I lean toward the artsy-creative side (as opposed to the, you know, math side. If you want proof, you can listen to my daughter’s counting skills which she obviously inherited from me – right now it’s 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 6, 7, 8, 11.). Inadvertently, I had been interpreting this trait in me as a little side quality, if you will, sorta like something I could fuel into a hobby eventually, once regular life was operating the way it should and all my plates were spinning the right way. So basically, when we become empty nesters I could take up macrame or something.

Yeah.

So my psychologist reminded me that this creativity is a God-given gift, and that if it makes me feel more like myself, if it reboosts my energy, and if it makes our living quarters feel more like home (which it definitely hasn’t yet), then by all means, I need to tap into that. As in, doing something creative is more of a need of mine than just a want.

Kabob agreed with him, and this wise counselor suggested setting aside a wee bit of budget that I could spend soley on decorating. I haven’t decorated since we moved overseas, and our place definitely feels a smidge on the sterile side to me. As I’ve mentioned before, I really enjoy decorating and scoring finds on the super-cheap or free, and then making them my own and settling them into our home. Unfortunately, that’s not really an option in our country, because culturally, most people like uber-shiny furniture and can’t imagine the thought of ever putting something used in your home.

But the problem is, a home where everything was bought virtually brand-new all at once from just a few stores kinda lacks some… character. It doesn’t really look like us yet. And to my surprise, that’s unexpectedly important to me. Important enough to do something about it. Didn’t really think it was.

So where am I going with all this? Here in Thailand, high-quality fabric is CHEAP. Cheap cheap cheap. I think a lot of the world’s fabric is woven here, because fabric stores run aplenty and the quality is great. 100% sturdy cotton averages around $.50 to $1 a yard. Well-printed canvas runs about $3 a yard. Even beautiful raw silk is about $1.50 a yard. I wish I had more time to sew and more ideas in my head, because it’s a fabric gold mine here.

And if you’d like to see my purchases, well then, here you go. In no particular order…

This will be for the kitchen, though I don’t know exactly what part. Probably curtains and possibly a seat cushion:

This is for the master bedroom, only if I have time. And I’m still not crazy about the shininess of the fabric. I only want to make two throw pillows:

This fabric is for our little guy on the way. Probably a bumper and a skirt for the crib:

Here’s a close-up. Notice the fortune cookie-like maxim – take nature for a friend. So true, so true… :

These two are for our living room/dining room. I want to cover the throw pillows that came with our sofas, an art/photo board, a seat cushion for our desk chair, and possibly some curtains. The first one is the same fabric as the master bedroom fabric, only in red:

Here’s my dilemma – do these two fabrics even go together? The reds look much more the same than what the picture shows, but I’m just not sure if these prints go. Know what I mean? What do you all think? If you think they’re a no-go, then which one should stay? All thoughts welcome. I do have to say, though, that they look better together in person than in this photo. As I look at this photo, I think, what were you thinking?

The one issue in all this – and it’s kind-of a big one – is that I left my sewing machine in the States. I could buy a new machine, but they’re expensive in our country, like all appliances. So unless I steal one find one on sale, I’ll have to hand-sew all this. Hmm. We’ll see how it goes.

Finally, I added a few more photos to Flickr. Enjoy…

posted: 07 August 17
under: culture, homemaking